No. 0271985·indie-rock·3 blocks
How Soon Is Now?
One of the most iconic guitar tones in alternative rock. Johnny Marr's tone on How Soon Is Now? is built on a Rickenbacker 330 through a Fender Twin Reverb with extreme tremolo effect. The tremolo is the defining feature: a pulsating, rhythmic wobble that gives the song its hypnotic, driving feel. Marr used four separate amp channels processed with tremolo at different speeds, then blended them to create a massive, swirling stereo effect. The result is a guitar tone that sounds like it is breathing.
Meat Is MurderSignal path · input → output · 8 blocksLive values · Line 6 Helix
Guitar
Rickenbacker 330
Pickups
SS
Tuning
bridge
Strings
standard
Volume Pedal
Deluxe Comp
US Double Nrm
Optical Trem
2x12 Double C12N
Spring
Tilt
Volume Pedal
← Volume pedal
Level
100%
Deluxe Comp
← Studio compressor
Threshold
-36dB
Ratio
2:1
Knee
6dB
Attack
60s
Release
910s
Mix
74
Level
0dB
US Double Nrm
← Fender Twin Reverb
Drive
3
Bass
4
Mid
5
Treble
7
Presence
6
Master
1
Bias
0.5
BiasX
0.5
Sag
0.5
Hum
0.5
Ripple
0.5
Ch Vol
5
Optical Trem
← Fender Vibrato
Speed
6Hz
Depth
8
2x12 Double C12N
← Twin Reverb built-in 2x12
LowCut19.9Hz
HighCut20100Hz
Level
0dB
Pan
0.5
Delay
0
Spring
← Twin Reverb spring tank
LowCut200Hz
HighCut6500Hz
Mix
20
Decay
0.6s
Predelay
20ms
Tilt
← Tilt EQ (global brightness)
Tilt
0.5
CenterFreq
1000Hz
Level
0
Engineer's note
File 027
One of the most iconic guitar tones in alternative rock. Johnny Marr's tone on How Soon Is Now? is built on a Rickenbacker 330 through a Fender Twin Reverb with extreme tremolo effect. The tremolo is the defining feature: a pulsating, rhythmic wobble that gives the song its hypnotic, driving feel. Marr used four separate amp channels processed with tremolo at different speeds, then blended them to create a massive, swirling stereo effect. The result is a guitar tone that sounds like it is breathing.
— Johnny Marr
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